7 Things We Checked Off Our 'Bucket List - Babble babble.com

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I have been writing on Being Pregnant now for almost a year, though for the better part of the year I wrote about my crazy baby fever wanting another child, but my husband was not yet on board. About 7 months ago that changed and we?ve been actively trying to conceive since (fingers crossed for us this month).

Pregnancy is not an easy process for me ? not because of the symptoms (which do suck), but my biggest struggle is?staying?pregnant. ?In the seven years we have been trying to become parents or working to grow our family, I have been through 12 miscarriages, with my most recent being only a few months ago.

Our history was a huge area of discussion while deciding if we were going to try to conceive another child, but with plans in place, doctors on board and a good support system we went with following our heart versus letting our fear dictate our family size.

As much as I would love to take credit for infecting him with baby fever with my clever ideas, there was a list of things we put together before we actively started to try. My husband was always open to the idea, but before adding to our chaos with a complicated pregnancy and a noisy and needy newborn, there were some areas of our life we wanted to settle first.

That?s what became our TTC bucket list. Click through to see the 7 things we had on our list and crossed off:

• 

  Regulate Cycle

  Before we actively started trying and while we were still thinking about it, we had to see a clear regulated cycle. That way we can plan all the things (you know) accordingly. I needed to make sure I was ovulating and how long my luteal phase was.
  Photo credit: photostock

  /being-pregnant/2012/08/21/7-things-we-checked-off-before-trying-to-conceive/#regulate-cycle

• 

  Save a Little More

  Before we got married we had decided that one of us would be home with the kids until they are in full time school. It's been me for the past 6 years and adding a new babe means another 5 years at home. I have been able to find a job that allows me to work from home and care for our kids and helps us with a better financial cushion.
  Photo credit: photostock

  /being-pregnant/2012/08/21/7-things-we-checked-off-before-trying-to-conceive/#save-a-little-more

• 

  Get the Kids Settled In School

  My kids started school last year and we wanted to make sure they have a good routine with a big change in their life before we added another one.
  Photo credit: photostock

  /being-pregnant/2012/08/21/7-things-we-checked-off-before-trying-to-conceive/#get-the-kids-settled-in-school

• 

  Streamline and Organize Housework

  We have been living in baby chaos for some time. We wanted to calm the house down and reorganize, rearrange and get the housework schedule worked out.
  Photo credit: photostock

  /being-pregnant/2012/08/21/7-things-we-checked-off-before-trying-to-conceive/#streamline-and-organize-housework

• 

  Move Our Youngest to Her Own Bed

  Our youngest has always co-slept with us, both in our room, but mostly shared our bed. We wanted to have her moved out and in her own room (on her own time). We wanted her happily transitioned before so she didn't feel like she was being pushed out.
  Photo credit: photostock

  /being-pregnant/2012/08/21/7-things-we-checked-off-before-trying-to-conceive/#move-our-youngest-to-her-own-bed

• 

  Get the 'Doctor' OK

  I have a lot of weird things that happen to me while I am pregnant. I wanted to get a bit healthier, have some issues settled and get the doctor okay beforehand. We also had to make sure we have all the meds in place here at home should we get pregnant.
  Photo credit: photostock

  /being-pregnant/2012/08/21/7-things-we-checked-off-before-trying-to-conceive/#get-the-doctor-ok

• 

  Find a Better Work/Home Balance

  We both work like crazy and have both taken on new roles for work. We wanted to get a better balance before we add more stress and excitement to our life.
  Photo credit: photostock

  /being-pregnant/2012/08/21/7-things-we-checked-off-before-trying-to-conceive/#find-a-better-workhome-balance

We worked hard on all these points for a while and thankfully they have all come together for us. Some things are still kind of a work in progress (like work/life balance), but for the most part we have settled some of the chaos and the kids are now in a good place to add a new member to our family.

If only it would finally work for us?

Photo credit: istockphoto?(title added)

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Read more from?Devan?on?Accustomed Chaos?&?Unspoken Grief

Want more??Find me on?Being Pregnant | Babble?Kids?|?Babble Pets?|?Famecrawler

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/being-pregnant/2012/08/21/7-things-we-checked-off-before-trying-to-conceive/

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